So do you love him?
by Lil Enchantress
Summary: Shikamaru has a plan to get Chouji and Ino together, but in the midst of his plan gone wrong, he gets in a fight with Temari. Now everyone's confused and it was all his fault. ChoujiIno and ShikamaruTemari. Beware OOCness.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hey everyone! This is my first Shikamaru/Temari fanfiction, as well as my first Naruto fanfiction, so be nice. As I said in the description, beware of the out of characterness. I changed them slightly due to situations that make them act differently, so maybe they actually could be like this...except for Gaara. Gaara is just too OOC to be real. Sorry...but I had so much fun with him. Please don't mind the swearing too much. I don't usually swear this much, but I was having a moment... Anyways, please read!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I wish I could, but no. Please don't sue.

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Ino and Chouji had been waiting a while now. Shikamaru had told them both to meet him at that exact spot in front of Ichiraku's Ramen Shop. When they'd gotten there, Naruto was just going into the shop, but by now, he was already done with ten bowls. Where the hell could he be? Just when they both figured they'd go home, Shikamaru slung his arms around both of their shoulders making them both jump slightly.

"Damn you Shikamaru!" Ino shouted at his face. "What took you so long?"

"Yeah, Shikamaru, that's not like you. You're usually on time," Chouji put in, also wondering what could possibly make him so late. Not unless he was planning sometime to be that way. He just hoped it didn't have anything to do with what he told him the other day.

Shikamaru just smiled, making them both a little nervous. What happened to the bored look he always had? He was definitely up to something.

"I was giving you two a little alone time," Shikamaru stated, still smiling.

"Oh god," Chouji thought. "I tell him two days ago that I like Ino, and he's already planning something. This can't be good."

"Why," Ino started out slowly. "Why would we need alone time? It's not like our training can do much without you, ya' know."

Chouji and Shikamaru just stared at her. Was she always this dense? You'd think with all that chasing after Sasuke that she could take a hint when somebody's trying to set you up.

"It looks like this is going to take a little bit more than planned," Shikamaru sighed, arms still hung around both of them, and his smile fading slightly.

"He just said he was planning something," Chouji thought, understanding now. "What exactly is he up to?"

But before Chouji could completely think it through, he felt his head being jerked foward. Damn it! So this is what it was. Shikamaru's arm that was around his shoulders was pulling him closer to Ino, and from what he could tell, Shikamaru's other arm was pulling her closer to him as well. His eyes widened when their heads finally hit together, bringing them into an actually painful kiss.

Ino's eyes were wide as she backed away from their kiss. No, she definitely wasn't going to like this. He'd just stolen her first kiss, the most important thing for a teenage girl. In fact, she was going into shock from surprise, embarressment, and the most deadly of the three, rage. Shikamaru was without a doubt, going to pay for this big time.

By now, Shikamaru had been slowly backing up, expecting her to burst any time now. Actually he had expected her to competely go ballistic on him as soon as it happened, but he guessed that it was a bit more stupefying than he thought. If it went more according to plan, she should direct her rage at him and not Chouji, who was innocent in every possible way. The only thing Chouji had done was tell him that he liked Ino. After seeing Chouji so down about it, Shikamaru couldn't just do nothing about it. And so the plan was formed, whether it be reasonable or not. Either way, it was pretty damn funny right at that moment.

...until Ino finally went ping, and started flipping out and chasing him down the street yelling profanities at him. Then it was hilarious. But Shikamaru just ran. And it wasn't like he's never done it before, he was just too lazy to before. He knew when things were neccisary and when things weren't. And believe me, right now it was very neccisary to run. You never wanted to be caught by Ino once you've gotten her mad. It was a serious death wish to just stand there like a sitting duck.

So the air was flying by his face, he'd made it around a corner, maybe a block away from where they'd started. It seemed as if he might had been faster than Ino, had he not run into someone in the middle of the street when he was looking back to see where she was. That was basically his defeat. It gave him the slight disadvantage Ino needed to catch up with him. Sighing, knowing he couldn't do anymore past this, he looked up at the person he'd almost knocked over, ready to apologise for his clumsiness.

Damn. He really knew who to pick to piss off. Standing in front of him was none other than kuniochi Temari-chan of the Sand, and she was looking at him with a pure look of hatrid. This really wasn't his day.

Just as if it couldn't get any worse, Ino caught up, punching Shikamaru square in the back of his head. Being off guard, it actually threw him foward to the ground and left it throbbing. Wincing from the pain, Shikamaru glared back at Ino with a look of hurt on his face.

"What the heck was that for?" he said, almost actually forgetting what he could have done to make her so angry. Temari had shaken every thought out of his mind with that once glance of pure hate.

"What was that for?" Ino repeated in disbelief. "YOU JUST MADE ME AND CHOUJI FRICKEN KISS, AND YOU ASK WHAT THAT WAS FOR?"

Temari, looking slightly interested in the conversation, chimed in with a confused look now placed on her face rather than the hate from moments before.

"Excuse me," she asked. "But how the heck could he have _made_ you two kiss. It seems unlikely even with his special shadow justu."

"Oh, it's possible," Ino fumed. "He did it like this..."

She demonstrated by placing her one arm around Shikamaru, who had just stood up from her blow to his head, and the other arm around the unsuspecting Temari. Shikamaru was still slightly dazed, but he knew very well what was coming up next. His eyes widened and tried to stop her before it happened.

"Ino, wait! You don't know what you're do-"

His head was thrown foward, as had Temari's, and he was cut off by a pair of lips that were forced against his own. He shortly thought about how soft and warm they were before he realised who it was he was kissing again. Temari. The one that could kick your ass even without the help of her two younger brothers. And if they ever found out, you'd be dead anyways. He pulled away quickly, leaving the stunned sand ninja standing there with wide eyes. She really had no clue what had been coming when she started that conversation with Ino.

"What the hell did you do that for?" Temari shouted at Shikamaru, who was a bit surprised by her sudden reaction.

"What do you mean, what I did? I didn't do anything," Shikamaru fended, then pointed at Ino. "She's the one the forced your face at me."

Temari's eye twitched, and anger mark forming by her temple.

"Yeah? Well, you're the one that did it to her first, that made her have to demonstrate it on us."

Chouji came up from behind them after finally catching up.

"What's with them?" he asked Ino, who was standing there in realisation to what she did.

"I just showed her what he did to us, and I used both of them as examples. Which may not have been the smartest thing I've ever done."

Chouji's expression changed from nonchalant to worried in a heart beat. Who knew what Temari would do when she was angry. It might be worse than Ino, and you've seen what she can do. They both looked hopelessly at the couple fighting.

"You lazy ass!" Temari yelled.

"Stupid witch!" Shikamaru countered.

"Ego freak!"

"Bitch woman!"

"Deer face!"

"Deer face?"

"Shut up!"

It seemed as if the fighting would never end. Thankfully they were just using words for the moment, and not fists, shadows, or fans. They didn't want things to get messy. Especially in the middle of the street where people were watching. Which by the way, they had a small audience by now. To them it must of looked like a couple having a fight, ready to break up. It's like one of those things where you don't want to watch, but you can't help it because you're eyes are glued on the fight to see what happens. Finally though, it seemed as if Temari and Shikamaru had had it. They both exploded at the same time, loud enough for the whole village to hear.

"DAMMIT SHIKAMARU, I HATE YOU!"

"DAMMIT TEMARI, I LOVE YOU!"

An eerie silence covered the scene, everyone looking directly at Shikamaru in particular, who had said the most unexpected words anyone would have thought he could say. Some of them were looking in question as if they heard him wrong seeing as they both shouted it at the same time, it would have been very easy to misunderstand.

"Did he just say," Ino started.

Chouji nodded, looking over to Ino. "He said he-"

Shikamaru's eye twitched. He didn' like it when people talked about him. Especially when he could hear it. The crowd was now chattering loudly about the new gossip that just happened, and it was making him very irritable.

"Enough," Shikamaru barely muttered. "I'm going home, this is too troublesome."

With that, he turned around and started off towards the direction he'd come from. Ino, Chouji, Temari, and probably the rest of the pack of people watched his back as he left. What a very interesting day this had been already. Finally Temari couldn't take the pressure anymore and turned to leave as well. Only she was going to the inn she and her brothers were staying at. It had a very nice hot springs in it, and it was definately what she needed to get her mind off of that kiss.

About five or ten short minutes later, Ino and Chouji were the only ones standing in the middle of the street, as the other people had gone on with their business now. They glanced at each other with nervous looks. Ino blamed herself for ruining a could be great, but not anymore relationship Shikamaru might have ever formed with Temari, and Chouji blamed himself for ever telling Shikamaru about his crush on Ino. After all, had he not told him about Ino, he wouln't have devised a plan to get them together and it might not have lead up to Ino demonstrating with both of them in the first place. This was such a complicated situation. And Ino probably wouldn't forgive him ever either, seeing as he had stolen her first kiss. The only first kiss she'd ever have.

Ino was looking the other way, making sure not to catch Chouji's eye. Since everything had finally calmed down a bit, she finally got a chance to think about what had happened with...him. The kiss, and how she really felt about it. For the longest time, she'd been chasing Sasuke and rivaling Sakura, who was truly her own best friend. Now that he was gone with Orichimaru, he was nothing more than a painful memory she didn't like the think of much. He'd caused so much pain for her and Sakura, and she couldn't believe she'd turn her back on her best friend because of something so stupid.

Chouji on the other hand, was always there for her. He was nice, considerate, and patient. Sure, Sasuke was cute, but she'd seen Chouji during that one day or so after he came back from trying to rescue Sasuke. The time when he'd almost died because he took the last food pill that actually reshaped his body from the strong effect with chakra. When she thought about that, sure Sasuke was cute, but damn...Chouji was hot. Ino blushed thinking about this. He was after all, standing right next to her. She'd never thought things like this about her teammate before. Especially Chouji.

And to think that her first kiss was with him. Maybe it was a good thing. Or maybe not, seeing as she blew up first and created the horrible mess with Shikamaru and Temari. Chouji probably hates her now for ruining his best friend's life. If only she'd thought a bit more before acting.

"I'm a horrible person," Ino mumbled, gazing at Chouji with tear filled eyes.

Chouji snapped out of the temporary dreamland he was in to take glimpse over at Ino. She looked to be about to cry. His heart filled up with worry, and it shown through on his face.

"Don't say that," he began, reaching towards her to wipe away the tears that had found their way down her cheeks. "This might of happened anyways, with or without us."

"But I pushed it, and made it worse!" Ino sobbed, her shoulders now shaking.

"Maybe," Chouji said, making Ino look at him with confusion, thinking he was agreeing with her that she was horrible. "But, what is there to change when speeding up the inevitable?"

"The answer to that is nothing," he answered himself. "Shikamaru won't blame you if that's what you're worried about. And Temari, heck, she doesn't care about anything. Not that she'd be talking to any of us soon anyways."

Ino hiccupped, still half crying. Even if she wanted to stop now it wouldn't be that easy. It was hard to see her like this, so Chouji did the only thing he could think of. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her in, hugging her tight. Maybe if she stopped jerking from the hiccough spasms for a moment or two, she could calm down a little more. That was all he really wanted for her. For her to be safe, healthy, and relaxed.

Little did he know how much she was really enjoying it. At first it just surprised her, because it didn't seem like something the normal shy Chouji would do. But he never ceased to amaze her. She's stopped her spasms, but now she was feeling a bit uncomfortable in the position she was in; not quite leaning on him, but him holding her close. Natutally, she did the first thing that came to mind, which just happened to be cuddling closer into the hug. She never knew how good it felt to be hugged in big arms like his. Compared to her bony ones, she'd say that they evened out pretty well. It was a wonder how she never saw it before.

"Eh, um," Chouji stuttered, not expecting her to get closer to him. "How would you like to go for a walk to get things off your mind? And maybe I could show you my special spot. It's where Shikamaru first became my friend."

Chouji smiled inwardly at the thought. That bench at the top of the building where he and his dad had that talk was where Shikamaru had first spoken to him as a true friend. He shared his special cloud watching bench, and so Chouji found the first person he'd ever share a bag of chips with. It would be great to show it to Ino now, seeing as she was part of the team and all.

"I'd love that," Ino beamed. It seems like they were finally getting along. Even if it meant that Shikamaru and Temari weren't. But that's why they were going on the walk, right? To sort things out and see what they could do to help.

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Temari was walking back to the inn, it was something like 'Luke's Inn', or 'Hotspring's Hot Inn', or something. It really didn't matter what the name was, she knew where it was and what number their room was, so that's all that mattered. Walking back may not have been the best term, she was more like stomping back. She was really pissed. But she didn't know why, so that made her even more pissed. How could have a stupid fight with that stupid Nara kid affect her this much?

When she reached the hotel, she leaned on the front desk waiting for someone to notice she was there. An old lady wearing a yellowish kimono came out, squinting up at Temari.

"Can I help you?" she asked frailly, in an innocent tone.

"Can I please have the key for room two thirteen?" Temari asked, slightly too sweet. The old lady didn't seem to notice. Which was good because she really wasn't in the mood to fight with an old lady. Not that she would have anyways.

She tapped her fingers on the desk impatiently, waiting for the lady to come back from the back room with the key. It really shouldn't take this much time to get a stupid key. Even for an old lady like her. Soon enough, she came back, holding a key attached to a red tag which probably had the number on it. She grabbed it quickly and skipped up the stairs to the second floor. She was going to get her towel quick before taking her open bath in the nice hot spring water. Her own towel was the only one she trusted after that white one from the hot springs before had a slug on it. No way no how was she taking that chance again.

Finally reaching the door labeled two thirteen, she opened it and walked in. She was just about to pull her towel out of her backpack when she heard a low voice talking to her.

"What's wrong?" the voice said.

Temari looked over and spotted a red haired kid sitting in the big cushiony chair next to the television.

"Nothing," she responded, not caring much.

"What's wrong?" Gaara asked again. "I can tell you're thinking about something."

"Nothing! And it's none of your business anyways."

"So there is something," he said mysteriously. "I'm not letting you leave till you tell me."

Temari saw some of his sand go in front of the door as to block her path if she tried to pass. She gave in, knowing there was no other way out. But what could her bratty brother do about this anyways?

"Ugh, fine," Temari grunted, plopping down on the single bed beside her, laying herself down. "When I was walking Shikamaru ran into me, literally. Turns out he got in a sort of fight with his team members and the Ino girl was really mad at him for making her and his other teammate kiss. I didn't know what she meant, so I asked her and she demonstrated for me."

Temari gasped, breathing in some air so she could finish. Gaara sat there with his fingertips touching, tapping on each other, and with an 'I'm listening' look on his face.

"Well, she demonstrated using me and Shikamaru as we were the only ones right there at the moment. And she," Temari blushed at this. "She made us kiss."

"How can she _make_ you kiss?" Gaara asked innocently.

Temari glared at him, but only briefly before continuing.

"She pushed our heads together. I had my guard down, okay? It was really awkward so I got mad at him."

"But technically it wasn't his fault," Gaara interrupted.

"Yeah, I know. But I didn't know what to do, so I freaked and got mad. Mostly it was just us calling each other names, but then we both blew up at each other at the same time. I told him I hated him, but he told me he loved me."

"Do you hate him?" Gaara questioned.

"No, not exactly. I don't know what to think. I think maybe I should have said something different."

"So do you love him?" Gaara inquired, getting really into this whole question thing.

"I, well, I don't, I mean," Temari stuttered, searching for the words. "Even if I did, he probably hates me now. I told him I hated him!"

"Well then go find him and say you're sorry," Gaara said, as if it were obvious. "If he really likes you then he'll forgive you."

It hit Temari straight in the face. Of course! Why didn't she think of that? And why was it her little brother Gaara who had to tell her something like this? Temari looked over at Gaara in question.

"Hey Gaara," Temari said.

"Yeah?"

"Why did you help me?"

Gaara's sand moved away from the door and towards the TV. It turned the little knob to the right, making the screen go 'blip' and turn on.

"I was watching this show called Dr. Phil. It's really a wonder the way he helps people. He's my new idol."

"Since when did you have a first idol to be able to have a new one?"

"My first was Kankuro, but he's too lame to be my idol now."

"Where is he, by the way?"

"Training or something. Maybe he got a girlfriend. I don't really care. As long as he's not here to disturb my shows."

"Okay..." Temari trailed off. He was getting a little too weird for her to figure out. First he was a blood thirsty maniac who loved to kill, now he's a television addict. "Anyways, I'm going to find Shikamaru now."

"You do that," Gaara replied, only half listening now that his idol appeared back on the lit up screen. It gave his already creepy face a tint of blue, making him more dead-like than usual.

Temari just shook her head trying to rid her thoughts of what madness she'd just witnessed in there with her brother. She had to find Shikamaru, now or never. There was no way she was going to let him think that she hated him for any longer. She had to find him right away.

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After Shikamaru had left, he started aimlessly walking down the streets. He didn't really feel like going home. If he went there, his mother would bother him about why he looked so mopy and make him go do chores. If his father saw him, he'd probably give some lecture about how women are always tender to the men they love. Man he wished he could see who Temari would fall in love with. If it wasn't him, then who would it be? He just couldn't seem to picture her with anyone else. It was because of jealously, he knew that. He would be too jealous of anyone else who won her heart. So he just _couldn't_ picture it. It would shatter his heart into a million different pieces. Not like it wasn't already.

Shikamaru looked up at the sky where the clouds were floating by without care. Sometimes he wished he could be those clouds, just so he wouldn't have to deal with all his troubles. But on the other hand, clouds could never fall in love. He bet the clouds were envious of him because he could find a love and marry them, but they couldn't. They are just clouds after all. Just floating water droplets that form a fog in the sky. So true, but they also do not have to go through the pain when you feel your heart stop beating from it breaking in half. Whatever happened to that phrase "Better to have loved and to lost, than to have never loved at all?"

Shikamaru decided upon finding a place where he could better watch the clouds and think about everything. What better place to do that than he and Chouji's special bench? You could see the clouds perfectly from there. Especially on a day like today, where the clouds were puffy and the sky was bright blue. So that's where he went. Trudging his feet along, slowly making his way there.

By the time he'd gotten there, many clouds had passed overby. He didn't know what time it was, but it was probably still morning or near noon seeing how he'd only asked Chouji and Ino to meet him at the ramen shop around ten thirty, and he didn't show up till around eleven. Just walking up the remaining stairs, he stared at the distance between him and the bench. It wasn't that far, but it felt like it at the rate of which he was dragging his feet. When he finally stood right in front of the bench, he just looked at it.

He was holding back, and he had been the entire time from when he yelled at her till this very moment. It would be impossible for him to forgive himself to stoop to something as he was about to do. But he couldn't hold it any longer, so he broke. He fell to his knees in front of the bench, put his head in his arms on the seating part of it. Little wet droplets like rain found themselves rolling down his cheeks, and onto the wooden bench he half laid on. His shoulders started shaking and even his breathing got a bit disoriented. It became heavy and harder to breath, taking each breath was such a task. But it kept raining from his heart, soul, and the very being of himself. The only other time he'd done this was when he almost let all his friends die on that mission. When it was his duty to protect them. He couldn't help but feel competely worthless right now.

The only girl, no...woman he'd ever fallen in love with hated him. They'd gotten in a fight over something as little as a kiss. But he supposed that Temari hated him even before that. It was the only way she could have said what she did with such hatrid. Such loathing, glaring, hate. Maybe he did provoke it a little bit with all those names he called her, but on the other hand, he didn't really even know he loved her until the middle of their tantrum fight. Ugh! Love is too troublesome!

Hearing footsteps up to the rooftop, Shikamaru halted his shaking. He was caught. Like a deer in headlights. The footsteps stopped once they got to the top step, and he could feel a pair or two of eyes staring into his back. And then the unthinkable happened. He had one last involuntary shake of his body, letting whoever was there know that he is or was crying. This clearly wasn't one of his better days.

"Shikamaru," he heard Chouji's voice.

"Shikamaru, are you okay?" this time it was Ino's. Had they been together since the fight on the street? "Shikamaru, speak to us! Please..."

Reluctantly, Shikamaru picked his head up to look at his friends. His eyes were probably red and puffy, making him look very unpresentable. What a mess.

"What are you guys doing up here?" Shikamaru asked in a harsh whisper, not expecting his voice to be so out of it.

"Us?" Ino shouted, a look of worry spread across her face. "Why are you up here? You said you were going home! Oh, are you okay? You look so awful!"

She confirmed his suspicions. He really must look awful after everything that had happened.

"I'm fine, really," Shikamaru answered, his voicing coming back a bit more normal now. "What are you guys still together for? I thought I basically killed our friendship."

"You didn't kill it," Chouji remarked. "I think we all killed it. But we're trying to fix it again."

"And to answer your question, we were on a walk," Ino said playfully, winking. "Let's just call it a date."

Chouji looked at her with a blush on his cheeks. He was trying not to look at Shikamaru. It was obvious that he was trying to avoid the question Ino had so eagerly answered. Shikamaru smiled, his head still pounding slightly. So his plan had worked after all. Even with a few diversions...

"Good for you."

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Temari was jumping roof to roof, looking for Shikamaru's cute black pineapple hair style. Not that he could help it really, she supposed it was better kept in a ponytail than without it. But after her...um, counceling session with Gaara, she really wanted to find him. So many things were flying through her brain right then. So many things she could say, or bring up, or whatever. But she needed to find him first. That was the top thing on her list.

Before long, she caught sight of three people talking on a rooftop about five houses over. One of them was in a sitting position, quite awkwardly in front of the other two. The two standing looked really concerned for their friend, tryig to get him to come with them somewhere. It seemed he declined though, because he stood up and sat down on the bench while they walked away, waving politely. It was him. Shikamaru. And this was here chance to apologise. No backing down now!

She felt her stomach flip as she jumped closer to him. He didn't seem to sense her presence, which may have been a good thing since she was getting so nervous. Only three houses to go. Two houses. One. Temari jumped beside the bench he was sitting on, breathing heavily from her search for him, and her excitement to see him. He was in his thinking position, only his were feet firmly on the ground rather than crossed like he usually had them.

Temari coughed accidently, and she covered her mouth right away in surprise. He opened his eyes and looked in the direction he heard the noise, which he really wasn't expecting because just five seconds ago he'd been completely alone. Temari was standing there with wide eyes and a hand covering her mouth. It was ironic that there he was thinking about her, when she sneaks up and appears. And he hadn't even sensed her presence. His mother would kill him right about now saying how he let a girl sneak up on him. What kind of ninja was he?

"I'm," Temari started shakily, trying to explain herself. "Well-"

"Don't tell me," Shikamaru guessed. "You came to rub it in my face. Right?"

Temari looked hurt. The tone of voice he was using was so cold that it ran shivers up her neck.

"No, I-"

"Then you want to make fun of me for random reasons?"

"No, dammit! Let me speak!" Temari finally just shouted at him, very frustrated. She sighed, letting the stress go out with her breath. "Look, I wanted to say I'm sorry for being such an ass. I didn't mean a lot of the things I said."

Temari looked away, feeling embarressed as Shikamaru stared at her. This was actually a lot harder than what Gaara made it sound. But she couldn't just stop there, she had to tell him. She had to tell him how she felt. Temari looked back at him, catching his eye so that she would be staring straight at him when she said it.

"I, well, to tell the truth...I actually don't hate you."

"So it would seem if you're talking to me right now."

Temari smirked at this. That's true.

"I was just really upset about having my first kiss stolen just like that. No turning back. No romantic date beforehand, or anything."

Temari was now fidgeting with her fingers like Hinata did around Naruto. She was getting closer to her goal, and the butterflies in her stomach were growing in quantity. Still, she held his eye contact, having not completed her goal yet.

"But really, I actually," Temari breathed in, noticing she was holding her breath. Her face was turning deep red now, and Shikamaru was starting to look at her with question. "I, I LOVE YOU!"

Temari closed her eyes and bowed her head as if looking at her feet through her eyelids. She'd just blurted it out in the most unromantic way that she had feelings for him. He was going to think she was insane now. First she told him she hated him, and now that she loved him. Jeez girls were so complicated...

"Do you," Shikamaru reached out and pulled Temari's chin up so that she was looking at him again. Her eyes opened to find him staring deep into her teal blue orbs. "Do you really mean that?"

Temari nodded, his hand still grazing her chin. "Yes..."

Shikamaru smiled. In honesty, it was one of the cutest smiles she'd ever seen him make. Not that he smiled that often with that bored look attached to his face. And although it was such a happy moment, it was awkward. Standing there staring at each other, with neither of them the completely lovey dovey type. They looked away, each blushing like a tomato. Finally Shikamaru spoke up.

"So, would you go out with me if I asked?"

"Isn't that basically asking right there?"

"Only if you want it to be," Shikamaru winked playfully.

"Then sure," Temari closed the space in between them, pulling him into a bear hug. "I'd love to go out with you."

Shikamaru hugged her back, pulling her closer. The awkwardness left altogether. Maybe that's what they liked about each other. Their ability to make each comfortable in any situation. They pulled away from each other and looked into each other's eyes. Temari couldn't help it, so she leaned in again and kissed him. Full on the lips. She pulled away looking very satisfied, and leaving an astonished Shikamaru frozen in place.

"Now that at least had a romantic moment before it," Temari declared, licking her lips.

Shikamaru smirked. Maybe his dad was right after all, about all that tender to the one they love stuff. But that was one thing he wasn't going to get used to. Temari's new side that she showed him today made him love her more than he did earlier that day when he exploded and confessed his feelings in front of that huge crowd. He slung an arm around Temari's waist loosely, and leaned in close to ear.

"I love you Temari," he whispered.

Temari turned her head so she was facing him. She leaned her head in so their foreheads touched and their noses nuzzled.

"I love you too, Shikamaru," Temari murmured, kissing him again.

"Yes," Shikamaru thought, his head on cloud nine. "I definately love Temari."

A/N: WOOT! Finished! -cries- This is actually one of the many ideas for Shikamaru/Temari that was wandering around in my head. I just finally got around to typing in on the computer, rather than letting it sit in my brain to rot. Thank SteelyToast, my friend who said she couldn't wait to read it after hearing my ideas. It's really because of her that I pushed myself far enough to write this. And can you believe it? It's about eight pages! (at least on wordpad it is) I was having so much fun with it, I couldn't stop. And just so you know. I'm planning at least a short epilogue for this. So be on the look out. And to remind any of you who haven't seen it on my profile page; I'll be going to MI for a week and a half or so starting tomorrow evening for a family reunion. I'll try to write some in a notebook or something up there, but I won't have access to a computer. Thanks you all for reading! I love you all so much! -hugs all- And by the way, I used 'Deer Face' because Shika means deer, and she was just using it a lame pun. I thought that it was better than swearing again, so whatever.

-Lil' Enchantress  
--Naomi

Click that review button...you so know you want to.


	2. Epilogue

A/N: Sorry for the wait! Um, I don't own Naruto. Obviously.

So do you love him?  
Epilogue

TWO WEEKS LATER...

Temari was lying on the inn's bad, counting the ceiling tiles. She and her brothers would be going back to Suna the day after tomorrow, but she wasn't quite ready to leave. Today she day a date with Shikamaru. Not just any date, but a double date with Ino and Chouji too. They'd finally gotten together after the huge confusion, but Chouji had gone to training with his father the very next day. He was supposed to get back today and meet them all at the grill for the date. She couldn't wait to see them all.

Temari's counting was interrupted at tile number sixty-five when Kankuro and Gaara walked into room two thirteen ( I remind you, that's their inn room number...if you can't get the context clues), fighting over the stupidest of matters.

"I swear," Kankuro shouted at the new and improved Doctor Gaara, who by had downloaded every single episode of Dr. Phil and had watched them within the two week period. "I saw you flirting with that Sakura Haruno chick!"

"I was not!" Gaara screamed back, his hands on his hips. "Besides, she already has the hots for that stupid Uchiha guy that ran away."

Kankuro smile at him as if Gaara had just proved his point.

"So you tried to ask her out," Kankuro laughed at his brother. "But you got shot down! Hahaha!"

Gaara looked away pouting. Kankuro had hit the mark straight on.

"Yeah?" Gaara started to say slowly. "Well that's better than you could do. You asked that Tenten out when it turns out she was already going out with that weird guy Rock Lee. How can you be beat by someone that wears green spandex?" Gaara laughed seeing his victory in Kankuro's disturbed face.

Temari huffed at the ridiculous fight they were having, bringing all the attention to herself. She looked from Kankuro to Gaara, then from Gaara to Kankuro. What was she ever going to do with them? Then a thought came to mind as she stared back over to Gaara again.

"Hey Gaara?" Temari asked.

"Yeah?"

"I thought you changed," she said, recalling the past two weeks of Dr. Phil.

"I did," he replied calmly.

"Then what was that stupid fight with Kankuro for just a minute ago?"

"First off, Gaara said holding up one finger. "He started that whole fight..."

"But-" Temari growled in confusion.

"Second off," Gaara continued, holding up a second finger. "I told you before he was too lame to be my idol anymore. There's no way I'm being nice to him or giving him any of my awesome advice."

"Hey now," Kankuro defended. "Don't go letting your ego get big! Your advice isn't _that _great."

Gaara and Temari both stared over at him.

"Actually," Temari began, remembering the advice he gave her for Shikamaru. "It is pretty good. He even got me a boyfriend. Which I have a date with right now, so I'd better leave."

Temari jumped off the bed and ran to the door. As if in a second thought, she turned back to them for a moment.

"And please don't kill each other while I'm gone. I really don't want to clean any dead bodies off the floor the day before we leave this hotel."

So with that, she left. Leaving the dateless duo at the inn all alone with nothing to do.

----------

Shikamaru and Ino were already there chatting outside the grill by the time Temari got there. It was still five minutes before their meeting time, so she figured they just wanted to make sure they were on time like herself. When they caught sight of her, Shikamaru's face lit up with a smile and Ino shyly waved in her direction. Temari knew she blamed herself for that incident with her and Shikamaru's first kiss. Really though, Temari wanted to thank her for everything because if she hadn't of done it, he and Shikamaru might not be together yet.

"Temari!" Shikamaru shouted her name from down the street, also starting to wave.

Temari grinned and started sprinting down the street so she could get there faster.

"Hey Ino!" Temari greeted his teammate first, making Shikamaru's face fall slightly. She leaned in and gave Ino a friend hug as a thank you for getting her and Shikamaru dating. Then she turned to a patiently waiting Shikamaru.

"Hello cutie!" Temari winked at him, then jumped foward into a great bear hug and then a kiss.

Ino blushed while watching his. She'd never seen Temari so sensitive before, nor Shikamaru so caring. It was really great to see them both so happy together. Ino looked around a bit, trying to see if Chouji was coming soon. You'd think that if he knew he was going to be eating, that he would've come earlier.

About ten minutes later, and five minutes after their meeting time, they saw someone in the distance running towards them that looked like Chouji. As he got closer though, the clothes seemed right, but his figure was was too lean. It couldn't possibly of been him, could it?

"Ino, Shikamaru!" The boy called, now about twenty feetaway, waving madly at them.

Aparently it could be him. And it was.

"And Temari," Chouji nodded towards her then sighed as he started wheezing from the run.

"Chouji?" Ino asked, walking over to him to see fi he was okay. "Is that really you?"

Chouji smiled up at her, showing off his pearly white.

"Yeah, while I was training it drained a lot of my chakra and made me loose my appitite a bit. So I kind of lost a little weight," Chouji laughed.

Ino's eyes were wide with worry, wondering if he was really okay.

"A little?" she squeaked. "What do you mean a little? You're all skin and bones!"

That just made Chouji laugh harder.

"I hardly think it's that serious. I'm just average weight now. But you on the other hand...you could stand to gain a little you know," Chouji's expression turned soft as he smiled warmly at her.

"Eh? Me? I'm fine! I just-" Ino paused, thinking of how she could say it. "I just finally fell in love with the old you, and now you've already changed."

Chouji looked confused as he tried to think of a cure for Ino's sadness.

"Well...do you really want me to just pig out and eat again?" Chouji asked, uncertain of what she really wanted. He got a surprised reaction from Ino instead.

"What? Oh, no! I mean now that you're like this, it's absolutely fine!" Ino rambled, starting to blush. She was obviously thinking about how much more hot he'd gotten. He looked almost exactly like that time he took the red food pill and the overflowing chakra reshaped his body (a/n: check episode 114 out for reference...). "All I was saying was that you were fine the way you were before you lost all that weight."

"Yeah, well, I'm still me," Chouji offered. He was absolutely beaming inside. She'd just said what he always wanted to hear from her, but somehow when she actually said it out loud it sounded so much better. He wanted to ask her to marry her after that line, but you know...that's going a little fast. Especially since they're only twelve to thirteen. "I'm actually getting the hang of my new jutsu pretty well too!"

Chouji smiled with pride and joy, making it impossible for Ino not to smile back. She guessed that he still acted that same, which was really why she fell in love with him to begin with. Only now she had an extra reason to love him. Cough-he'sdropdeadgorgeous-cough.

"We should probably all go in now, before all the tables are taken up and we have to stand and eat," Shikamaru announced. "That would be a little too troublesome."

Everyone laughed hearing Shikamaru use his well used catch phrase. But they did decide to go in, seeing as they were all really hungry. They were quickly showed to their table (which just happened to be the usual one that Shika, Ino, and Cho get with their sensei), and the fire was started for the grill. The waitress asked what kinds of meat and sauces they wanted, then brought them out after a few minutes to put them on the grill. As they waited, everyone small talked a bit.

"So Chouji," Ino inquired. "Can you still do your normal jutsu's with your physique now?"

"I was wondering that too," Shikamaru put in, looking across the table to where Chouji was sitting.

"Oh. Yeah actually," Chouji responded with a smile. "I wasn't sure myself if it would work even, but I've been practicing them with my new body and they work fine."

"That's great!" Ino praised happily at Chouji. "I"m glad things are working out for you."

"Shoot!" Temari randomly said, making all their heads turn towards her.

"What's wrong?" Shikamaru asked, face full of worry.

"I forgot to tell Gaara and Kankuro that I made their lunches and that they're in the refrigerator," Temari was scratching the back of her neck nervously while a small smirk appeared on her lips. "Ahahaha...Oh well! They'll just have to starve until I get back." (a/n: she really will have dead bodies to clean up when she gets back! O.o)

The other three got sweatdrops on the heads. It really was amazing how differently Temari treated Shikamaru to how she treated anyone else. That would show them to never mess with her.

"Hey Ino," Chouji got her attention by waving a cooked meatkabob in front of her face then handing it to her. "How's your family's flower shop doing? I haven't been here in a while so I don't really know."

"Well we just got a pretty big order in lately. I think someone's having a wedding."

"Yeah, I think it's that feaudel lord's daughter in the village over," Shikamaru commented, reaching for his own meatkabob. "I don't know why they'd order from you though, considering they could get anything with how rich they are. Why settle with your shop?"

A vein appeared on Ino's forehead and Chouji tried to calm her down, but she exploded anyway.

"What'd you mean by that? Our flowers are the best in the Fire country!" Ino yelled at him, standing up and slamming her hands on the table. It created a big scene in the resturant. Chouji had to tug on her arm to get her to sit back down and breath.

"Ya'know Shikamaru, you really don't know how to talk to a lady," Temari put in her female advice. "You have to be more gentle and understanding because most women are very fragile.

"You're not 'fragile'," Shikamaru threw the comeback in her face.

A small vein apeared on Temari's head, but her face didn't change despite her anger.

"Yeah, but I'm not like 'most women'," Temari countered, glancing up at Ino and Chouji and smiling at them. The couple across from them were actually kind of worried about Shikamaru. It wasn't wise to get Temari mad.

"That's why I love you," Shikamaru declared, taking a bite of one of the beef on his meatkabob.

"Squee! Shikamaru, I love you too!" Temari hugged him tight. She'd gotten very affectionate over the two weeks. Sometimes it was hard for her to contain it.

Ino and Chouji however where more concerned about making affectionate scenes in public. They weren't used to the people staring at them, and not caring. So in a way, they both envied Shikamaru and Temari on how they could express themselves so easily. As if Chouji knew they were both thinking the same thing, he moved his hand over Ino's and squeezed it. He smiled nervously as she noticed his hand and smiled back. They would get used to it, little by little.

So after Temari kissed Shikamaru on the cheek, and his cheeks turned a wicked shade of red from blushing, they all started chatting again. Somehow they got on the topic of cotton candy. And from there the topic got changed to cheese. Don't ask, long story.

"No!" Ino shouted at Shika once again. "Swiss cheese is much better than your stupid Provolone cheese. Are you crazy? That stuff taste horrible!"

"Actually, I prefer Cheddar cheese," Chouji put in. "The sharpness of it makes your tastebuds dance." (a/n: can you picure that? lol...dancing tastebuds)

Ino huffed. "Cheddar's not bad, I just don't like Provolone."

"I like cheesecake," Temari added to the conversation. She never did like feeling left out.

"That's not an actual cheese," Chouji corrected her. "It may be made of cheese, but I wouldn't classify it in the dairy group." Leave it to Chouji to know the food facts.

"I said I like cheesecake, so I like cheesecake!" Temari argued, leaning foward over the table to get more in the mood.

In the background, Shikamaru's the only one not talking about cheese (besides his one comment on liking provolone before hand).

"What a troublesome conversation," he said, being ignored by everyone anyway.

----------

After many more cheese comments and all the meatkabobs were gone, the four of them decided to go the the Konoha Theatre (a/n: there is one...just watch the first Naruto movie). They watched a comedy about a set of twin teenage girls and how they were both going out with the same guy due to the fact they looked alike and he couldn't tell them apart. In the end he moved away and they both got new boyfriends. It was actually kind of lame, but they all liked it because they got to spend time with the one they love most. Well actually...Temari and Shikamaru were making out the entire movie so they don't even know what the movie's about, but that's not the point.

Finally it was time for them all to go home, and they were all saying their goodbyes. Chouji and Ino waved bye to Shikamaru and Temari as they lived closer together and wanted to say their goodbyes alone anyway. Although it turned out to be ideal for Temari and Shika too, because they too obviously wanted to say goodbye with just the two of them.

"Hey Shikamaru," Temari said, walking beside him on the way to her inn.

"Yeah?"

"You won't break up with me, will you?" she asked, almost not wanted an answer. It had been worrying her the entire date, but she didn't want to disturb it.

"Why would I?"

"Because I'll be going back to Suna soon," she said as if it were obvious. "We won't be together all the time. You might want to get a different girlfriend."

"That's crazy," he told her, pulling her closer to him so her head rested on his shoulder and his arm was around her waist while they walked. "Why would I want a different girlfriend if the only one I ever loved, do love, and will love is walking right beside me? I'll wait for you hundred years to come back to me. And if that fails, then I'll just have to come visit you, alright?"

Temari looked up to his face. He was serious. It warmed her heart to know he liked her that much. Noone had ever told her things like that before. She leaned in and kiss his cheek as a form of gratitude. Her feeling were just so overflowing, she really didn't know what to do with them.

"I love you too Shikamaru. Please promise we'll see each other again."

"I don't have to because I know we will."

"Just say it!"

"Alright, alright!" Shikamaru said defensively. "I promise we'll see each other again. 'Kay?"

"Better," she mumbled into his shoulder.

"We're here," he poked Temari. She'd almost fallen asleep on his shoulder on the walk back. It made him wonder slightly if she could sleep walk. Probably.

"Oh, bye Shikamaru!" she hugged him, laid a wet one on his lips, then ran inside the inn. She ran up to the second floor and then to outside of room two thirteen, turning the key and walking inside.

"Hey Gaara, Kankuro! I forgot to tell you that there's food in the fridge!" she called out to them.

She could hear their loud groans as they tried to find the energy to get up and walk to the mini refrigerator the inn room had. It made her giggle as she tugged her shoes off and watched her younger brothers shovel the food into their hungry mouths. Today really had been a fun day. Going out with Shikamaru, Ino, Chouji, and torturing her brothers all in one day. Now that's what she called satisfaction.

----------

Ino and Chouji were walking home together, daringly holding hands. They loved the tingling sensation running through their arms as they let their arms go limp in each other's grasp. Even though they both wished they could appear more 'together', they always got nervous by the last second and wouldn't show it as much. Chouji was too nice, and Ino was just too overwhelmed now that Chouji's appearance became so much more attractive. They even hardly talked by the time they got to their street (they live a few houses apart (a/n: actually, I have no clue. I'm just making it up for the story line)). Suddenly a small gust of wind flew by, and Chouji wrapped his arm around her to keep her warm.

"Are you okay?" he asked, making sure eveything was fine.

"Eh? Oh, I'm great, absolutely!" Ino assured him. Then she added in a softer more romantic voice. "Especially with your arm around me. I always know you'll protect me if I'm in danger...thanks."

"But you know I'd do that for you even if we weren't going out. You are my friend you know," Chouji said, his 'nice guy' exterior showing again.

"Yeah, and that's why I fell in love with you," she explained, a small blush brushing across her cheeks.

"I love you too," he muttered, also getting embarressed. "And by the way, we're at your house."

Ino looked up, seeing the flower shop in front of them. She wondered for a minute how long they'd been there. Oh god, what if her mother say them? Oh well. She'd probably be seeing a lot more of Chouji in the future, so who cared? Exactly. Ino turned to Chouji and hugged him, her head hiding into his chest. When she pulled away, they waved good bye. She turned, taking a few steps towards her house before halting and running back to Chouji and locking a deep kiss with him. Chouji hugged her waist as she wrapped her arms around his neck and playing with his hair, making the kiss even deeper. By the time they pulled away, they were both gasping for air, and astonished at their sudden romantic moment.

"I love you so much Ino," Chouji breathed, hugging her again and resting his head on hers for a moment.

Ino let out a laugh, and hugged him back before they parted again. "Okay, this one's good bye for real this time. I love you." So she walked back to her door and walked in. After closing the door, her back slumped against it and she slid down to the floor. That was the best few minutes of her life!

----------

The last couple days went quickly. Shikamaru and Temari spent most of the time lying on the hill watching clouds and talking about the past and future things. Neither of them wanted Temari to leave, but they knew it had to happen. So basically they spent as much time together as they could before the time came for her to go back. So after many happy hours, the time to leave came as expected. Gaara and Kankuro were already on the other side of the gate outside of Konoha, but Temari was still with Shikamaru on the inside. (Chouiji and Ino hadn't come because they both said their good byes after that date they had) They were hugging at the moment, not wanting to separate.

"Get a hold of yourselves!" Kankuro shouted to them. "You've spent the past how many days and hours together? And it's not like you'll never see each other again. We've got to go now if we want to get there by dusk!"

Temari sighed and pulled away from Shikamaru. They looked deep into each other's eyes, each full of young love and emotion. Good byes always were harder to say than hellos. But the fact that the time they spent constantly together was going to stop once she stepped outside that gate made Temari shiver. She wouldn't have his arm wrapped around her any more, and she wouldn't get to kiss him good bye after a date, or just for fun even. However, the thought of them meeting up again after a long period of time brought images of happiness that might happen. Their love might even strengthen from a good long absense of each other. So that made her want to leave, if not just a little bit. Shikamaru leaned down and pressed his lips into hers for the last time, holding her close before she pulled away walked towards the gates.

"Good bye Temari!" he called after her. "I'll see you again."

"You better!" she told him, turning her head to look at him as she walked. "You've got a promise to keep, remember?"

"I know I do!" Shikamaru smiled, waving a final goodbye.

"So I'll see you around sometime," was all she said before she was finally out the gates. Shikamaru watched her and her brothers before they finally walked off as the tiniest specks in the distance. As he walked back to his house (his mother didn't want him out too long...you know, the usual) he started of thinking how everything began. He definately wouldn't of thought a simple plan to get his two best friends together could ever lead up to something as big as this. But heck, a simple seed becomes a giant tree one day, so you never know...

A/N: Okay...really wasn't thinking there was a whole moral to this story, but yeah. I made it up at the last second. :D And sorry about the random date. It was literally supposed to be like that. Think about it a minute though. When you're talking to your best friends and such, you talk about a lot of random things, no? Er, well...maybe it's just me then. Sorry! Also about the meatkabobs. I'm not sure what they're called, and I don't really care. I just love the word meatkabob, so I had to use it. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the ending to **So do you love him?**! I enjoyed writing it, even if I did get writer's block about ten times throughout this one epilogue-chapter-thing.

Just so you guys know, eventually there will be a sequel to this. Well...I'm not sure if that's what you'd call it exactly, but it revolves around Gaara and Kankuro more. It's after the three year skip, so Gaara's 15 (as is Shika, who'll be a side character also in the story), Kankuro's 17, and Temari's 18 (also a sort of a side character). It involves Gaara and Kakuro (who are in Suna by the way), the dateless duo, finally getting girlfriends and such. But it is literally after this story, and some small references will be made that other people might not get if they haven't read it. So -eventually- look out for the sequel-thing. I'll get around to making it sometime. :D Hope you'll be around to read it. Catch you later!

lil' enchantress  
-Mimi-chan- (my nickname I'm been using a whole lot lately)

Review! (I know you want to.)


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